City Of Birmingham Meet 2013
02 Apr 2013
Pershore Swimming Club (PSC) sent a nine-strong squad to compete
in the City of Birmingham Open Meet over the Easter weekend which attracts many
of the best age-group swimmers from the Midlands and also the rest of the UK.
Competing against swimmers from much bigger, established
city clubs including Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and Derby, Pershore once
again produced some excellent results winning 3 gold medals, 5 silver medals
and 11 bronzes across Level 2 and Level 3 categories.
The City of Birmingham meeting runs level 2 and level 3
competitions concurrently, offering swimmers of differing abilities the chance
to compete next to one another in the same events, with upper and lower limits
qualifying times set for the two categories.
Isobel Cumming (10) took two golds, one silver and three
bronzes in Level 3 events as well as producing 11 personal best times during
the weekend. Cumming won the Girls 9-10
year old 400IM in 7.32.69 (pb) and the 200m butterfly in 3.50.34 (pb), silver
in the Girls 9-10 year old 200m Breaststroke in 4.14.34 (pb) and third places
in the 800m freestyle (13.44.18 pb), the 50m fly (43.91 pb) and the 100m
breaststroke in 2.00.50 (pb). Isobel was
presented with the 'Ironman' trophy, jointly with a male swimmer from Crewe,
for the greatest number of events successfully completed (17 in total) without
being disqualified. She was placed as
fifth girl overall.
Elizabeth Vizard (14) had a fantastic meeting, winning three
bronze medals at Level 3 and reaching two overall finals and producing a string
of pbs on the way. Vizard reached the
Level 3 finals of the girls 13 years and over 100m backstroke in a new pb of
1.17.96 in the heats and then went even quicker in the final in 1.17.02 to win
the bronze medal. She also secured
bronze medals in the 800m freestyle in 10.45.67 (pb) and the 200m fly in
3.15.92 as well as producing another pb in the 100m freestyle (1.09.23)
Younger sibling Chris Vizard (11) competed in several level 2
and level 3 events, enjoying four podium finishes at Level 3. In his first competitive outing in the
longest event, Vizard secured silver in the boys 11/12 years 1500m freestyle in
22.26.89 and a massive pb on the way and added another silver in the boys 11/12
years 400m freestyle (5.39.87 pb). He
also took third place in the 400IM in 6.34.58 (pb) and the 200m fly in 3.34.92
(pb). At Level 2, Vizard produced pbs in
the 100IM (1.30.78), the 100m back (1.26.49) and the 100m freestyle (1.40.32).
Hannah Simister (12) won a hat-trick of bronze medals at
Level 3, with excellent performances in the 200m free, the 100m IM and the 100m
breaststroke. Simister took third place
in the Girls 11/12 year old 200m freestyle in a new pb of 2.48.75, the Girls
11/12 year old 100 IM in 1.29.30 (pb) and the 100m breaststroke again in a new
pb of 1.39.81.
Two Pershore swimmers enjoyed success at the higher Level 2
category, with Naomi Marsden (10) and William Gearey (10) winning gold and
silvers respectively. Marsden, who achieved
her Midland Qualifying Time in the 100m backstroke at the recent Worcester
County Championships, took a superb gold in the Girls 9/10 year old 100m
backstroke, beating off stiff competition from some of the Midland's strongest
age-group swimmers. Marsden posted a
massive pb time of 1.20.10 to take gold medal as well as heading off the
challenges from swimmers that she'll be facing in the forthcoming Midlands
Swimming Championships in June.
William Gearey (10) snatched a podium finish at Level 2 in
the Boys 9-10 year old 50m freestyle, taking a fine silver medal in a time of
32.51, again against some of the region's strongest age-group swimmers, and
beating the third placed swimmer by one-hundredth of a second. Gearey also took silver in the Boys 9-10
years Level 3 100m fly in a new pb of 1.33.25 and shaved more time off his 100m
freestyle (1.11.93 pb).
Other notable performances over the weekend included Cameron
Leach (having just turned 9) competing in his first Open meeting and showing a
great deal of promise. Leach produced
four huge pbs in the Level 3 events, slashing over twenty seconds in the 200m
breaststroke and 200m freestyle in 4.35.90 (pb) and 3.33.60 (pb) respectively
as well as excellent pbs in the 100IM (1.45.10) and the 50m back (50.66). Owen Leeks (13), showing signs of some
excellent form in the last few weeks, produced a fantastic swim in the boys 13
and over 200m backstroke Level 2 , in a new pb of 2.39.77 and Calum Sanderson
produced a new pb of 21.34.19 in the 1500m Level event.
Pershore's head coach, Tom Naughton, said: "I'm extremely proud of all our young
swimmers and for such a small squad we really held our own. It's fantastic to come away with so many
podiums, especially against such high quality fields and competing against the
best from the Midlands and further afield."
T Gearey